Abstract: River transportation along the Amur River has played a crucial role in the development of Sino-Russian relations since the middle of the XIX century. With the opening of Far Eastern borders and the improvement of Sino-Russian relations at the turn of the XX – XX centuries, they river transportation amplified its importance. The subject of this research is the cooperation of the Amur Shipping Company and Heilongjiang Shipping Group in the Far East. An overview is given to the activity of the two largest shipping companies of Russia and China in the Amur River Basin, as well as to the line of activity of the Chinese company aimed at the development of Sino-Russian border relations. The scientific novelty lies in the analysis of interaction between the Amur Shipping Company and Heilongjiang Shipping Group. The conclusion is made on the immensity of the accumulated historical experience of cooperation, all-round role of interaction between the the Amur Shipping Company and Heilongjiang Shipping Group in Sino-Russian relations, gradual development of the two corporations, and development potential of further cooperation in the conditions of COVID-19 pandemic. The article is relevant for studying the strategic development of Heilongjiang shipping companies and the role of Amur river transport in the context of Russia's economic integration into the Asia-Pacific Region.

Abstract: The subject of this research is the economic activities of Chinese entrepreneurs in the border areas of the Russian Far East during the 1990’s. Over the recent decade of the XX century, the Chinese migrants have developed a dynamic business activity in the bordering Far Eastern territories, which led to continuous cross-cultural interaction between the two essentially different cultures. The system of international economic contacts established in the region at this time, can be described through the category of “ethnic entrepreneurship”. Particular attention is given to the traces of ethnic entrepreneurship manifested in the border areas of the Russian Far East during the 1990’s. The authors examine the specificity of the ethnic (Chinese) entrepreneurship in the contact zone of China-Russia cross-civilizational interaction, as well as socioeconomic situation in the Russian Far East at the end of the XX century. The article provides characteristics to the terms of “ethic entrepreneurship” and “ethnic entrepreneurs”, introducing these categories into the discourse of historical science in corresponding subject area for the first time. Territorial framework include the regions of the Russian Far East bordering with China, where ethnic entrepreneurship has expanded in the 1990’s. Overall, this can be described as a complex sociocultural and economic phenomenon that laid the foundation for the formation of transboundary space in the Far East in the XXI century. The acquired historical experience of communication between the Russian population and Chinese migrants has a direct impact on the current development of China-Russia relations, as well as requires further examination and generalization.